A cool review of GI Joe: Retaliation (and new hope for He-Man being good)

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A cool review of GI Joe: Retaliation (and new hope for He-Man being good)

I just stumbled upon the io9 review of the new GI Joe movie, and the way it's described really lifted my spirits and rekindled my hopes for the upcoming He-Man movie. I know people are concerned about Jon Chu directing it, but some of the things here are exactly what I would like He-Man movie to be and I hope he captures it again.

Retaliation feels like G.I. Joe — not like the cartoon, not just like the comic, but what people loved about the franchise (especially the toys). Director Jon M. Chu gets it. It’s like he made a checklist about what made G.I. Joe special, and decided Retaliation was gonna have all of it.

Now that would be awesome for He-Man. With all the canons around, early mini comics, cartoon, toys and packaging tidbits, 200x, Star Comics, DC comics... there is really no one true source. But there is this feeling we all have when we think of MOTU, there is some essence we all remember. And it seems like he tried to capture exactly that in the GI Joe movie. Now, granted, I haven't actually seen the movie, nor am I a GI Joe fan, so I can't really say how successful it really is, but the guys over at io9 seem pretty impressed. I love how they described that the movie is like a kid's play come to life.

Now, another thing - people often say they want the new MOTU movie to be gritty, realistic... people talk of The Dark Knight or 300 when they describe their preferred style. I have never been a fan of that, honestly. Dark Knight is awesome for itself, but that's not MOTU for me. MOTU always has been and IMO it always needs to be a little goofy, a little out of this world (and out of this logic). It needs to be fun! The review lists this as one of the major selling points of the movie "A simultaneously goofy and cool Cobra plot to take over the world" That is EXACTLY what I would love the movie to be - fun, action packed, and preserve some of the silliness of the original material. The last thing MOTU needs is to take itself too seriously and become just another pretentious forgettable summer flick.

Between the entertainment on screen and the brisk pacing, there’s practically no time to think about the film’s plot holes and problems [...] when I realized them, I thought, “Well, that doesn’t make much sense, but I’m having such a good time. Who cares?”

[...]

Retaliation isn’t a perfect movie by any means — no one’s going to confuse it with Citizen Kane — but it’s a completely sold action movie while being a thoughtful love letter to G.I. Joe fans. But it’s not slavish devotion — Chu truly cherry picks the essence of G.I. Joe, and brings out its best to the big screen in a way that should entertain hardcore fans and mass audiences alike.

Now, that is exactly what I want. That is what has me all excited again for the MOTU movie which - I must say - I started to lose hope for. If he has a similar approach to MOTU, and I don't see why not, and if he actually succeeds in it it would be so amazing.

I used to be a little skeptical about Jon Chu, but now I'm sold. I can't wait to see GI Joe: Retaliation and if this review is an accurate portrayal then I'm all for Chu directing MOTU!

sorry, I can't post a link to the review because of some inappropriate language, but you guys can just go to io9 and find it.

I think part of the problem is people want properties to be so believable to the point they ruin the movie going experience from the start. If the Motu movie is set on Eternia, I don't want hear this madness of...That's impossible duh!! Anything goes in fiction. I like to dumb myself down before any movie and make an opinion based on it after that, I'm never trying to find who the killer is, what are the motives etc.? That's the director job to tell the story. I’m not a die-hard Joe fan but I'll give it a chance and any Motu movie I’ll support it and hopefully fall in love with it. Ivan are catching a Red eye to Power-Con this year again? Me and the wife a hold the cab for you again at the airport.

“You don't stop playing because you grow old you grow old because you stop playing.” George Benard Shaw.

I think part of the problem is people want properties to be so believable to the point they ruin the movie going experience from the start. If the Motu movie is set on Eternia, I don't want hear this madness of...That's impossible duh!! Anything goes in fiction. I like to dumb myself down before any movie and make an opinion based on it after that, I'm never trying to find who the killer is, what are the motives etc.? That's the director job to tell the story. I’m not a die-hard Joe fan but I'll give it a chance and any Motu movie I’ll support it and hopefully fall in love with it.

Agreed. Though, "dumbing down" sounds a little negative, but it's really about suspension of disbelief when it's warranted. Take a look at some of the great stories that survived the test of time - myths, fairy tales, old epic poems - they all sound a little stupid for a modern person. Yeah, the princess was locked in a tower and she let her hair down for the prince to climb and rescue her. What kind of a plan is that? Even if she really had a hair that long, how painful would that be for her? Still, nobody cares, and they love that story because the story creates a rich, interesting, engaging world you can escape into and fantasize. I hope they keep that in He-Man.

Originally Posted by PIMPS ADAM

Ivan are catching a Red eye to Power-Con this year again? Me and the wife a hold the cab for you again at the airport.

Hey, yes, hold the cab! I actually just booked a flight this morning! I'll be there on Friday evening (landing around 1030), hopefully there will be a mixer downstairs again. Sorry, everyone, for going of topic here

Well after a nine month reshoot, the sequel finally comes out. If you followed why the movie was reshot regarding Tatum's character, then you'll wonder why they bothered reshooting the movie in the first place. Seriously.

On to the movie. It's average at best. The comedy, action, emotional moments all fall flat. Seemed like the director could not solve the puzzle of making Bruce Willis and The Rock interesting in an action movie other than showing up on screen.

I'd say the best parts involve Storm Shadow and he's barely in it. They also improved upon Cobra Commander now that he looks like Cobra Commander. And lastly Adrian Pallicki looks great on camera. Those are the positives, other than Firefly kind of being cool at times.

The movie is easily better than the first, but only because it was missing many of the poor elements. It's entertaining, but forgettable. Which is a shame because this lightweight is directing the next He- Man and my expectations are extremely low now.

Personally, i thought The Dark Knight was incredibly fun. But I get it, when most people use that word, what they usually mean is “lighthearted”.

The problem there is that lighthearted can so easily become campy, especially in the hands of a novice. Comic relief is fine, but the characters should still act like people. That was what TDK did right. There was still a lot of over the top comic book quality in TDK- but it took place in a world of consequences.

This is where I think the latest joe film falls short. Granted, it’s miles ahead of the first film, but it could have been much more. I love the filmation he-man cartoon (if you couldn’t tell), and I love the adam west batman series. That doesn’t mean I would want to see that in a major motion picture. I think the big screen should be the place where a writer and director really try to elevate the material above the “this is just for kids” limitations placed on the original source media.

I feel that movies that don’t take themselves seriously are the ones that become forgettable. There’s a reason that TDK became an instant classic of the genre.

But he-man is not batman. There are other movies that excel far better than G.I. Joe: Retaliation at finding the right balance of character driven narrative, action, humor, comic relief and supernatural elements and take themselves seriously:

The avengers
The Indiana jones series
The lord of the rings series
Star Wars

Above all, I want a MOTU movie that is character driven. I want it to be emotionally and intellectually stirring with a story that feels relevant to the human condition. There’s no reason that it can’t be a critically acclaimed classic film- if done right. I’m not sure chu is up to that. If the script is awesome maybe that will help, but that’s just one element. Maybe it will benefit chu that MOTU is not a sequel, so he’ll be more free to let the creative juices flow.

SCB I agree with everything you said except I enjoyed the first movie much more than this one. There were several laugh out loud moments for me at how bad the dialogue was. Some of the scenery shots in the mountains were pretty good. The action sequences up until that last one were good too. That last one though. Gah. It felt like they ran out of money or something. Below average movie for me. C-

I will be seeing it tomorrow, I am not a gi joe fan really in fact I prefer the cobra-la stuff more than anything this side of renegades (which to me is the best gi joe I've seen.) so that tell you how I feel about the franchise But even me and my disdain for the property had issues with the sacrilege of the first one (specifically CC's look and story and snake eyes having lips) this movie fixes BOTH those issues. plus I'm a fan of the Rock so I'll enjoy seeing him kick ass at the VERY least (I hope)

I just got back from Retaliation. He-man was my first love as a kid, but GI Joe was my second. I hated the first GI Joe movie, and although the second one could never be what I personally wanted to see because it does have ties to the first movie, I was impressed. I give it credit for feeling like GI Joe, at least to me.

The best thing in my opinion, Is that if I were not in my mid thirties with expectations stemming from my childhood, I would have loved it. If I was a kid I would so want a Roadblock action figure and all the other stuff Hasbro put out. So it makes me a little more optimistic that the same might happen with a new MOTU movie, possibly bringing positive interest from younger people to the brand.

I know I won't Love a new MOTU movie, but There might be a chance me and others won't HATE it.

I just got back from Retaliation. He-man was my first love as a kid, but GI Joe was my second. I hated the first GI Joe movie, and although the second one could never be what I personally wanted to see because it does have ties to the first movie, I was impressed. I give it credit for feeling like GI Joe, at least to me.

The best thing in my opinion, Is that if I were not in my mid thirties with expectations stemming from my childhood, I would have loved it. If I was a kid I would so want a Roadblock action figure and all the other stuff Hasbro put out. So it makes me a little more optimistic that the same might happen with a new MOTU movie, possibly bringing positive interest from younger people to the brand.

I know I won't Love a new MOTU movie, but There might be a chance me and others won't HATE it.

hey I was NEVER a fan of GI JOE outside of what I outlined above and I'm buying the hot toys roadblock (head sculpt dependent) and Finances willing the snake eyes one as well. Nice to hear a review like this, it might mean i REALLY enjoy it!

It will be no surprise that Retaliation is way BETTER than the Rise of Cobra!

Although is wasn't perfect, it was what I wanted action, humor, 'some' story and above all entertainment! I am pleased considering what with they had to work with and from (R.O.C.) and even acknowledged the previous film short, brief and sweet!

Without revealing anything I will say Ninjas... too long and RZA why?????

I saw it tonight. I’m pretty sure I prefer it to the first one, although I did miss the sheer cartooniness of the first instalment. Although, this did feel like a live-action Saturday morning cartoon at times. For any other film, that would be a big strike against it. For this, though, it is well suited, IMO. I mean, Cobra Commander’s voice and lines were pure 80s cartoon. I liked that. I thought the characters were handled okay, but nothing groundbreaking. There just wasn’t enough bad guy action for my liking.

I think Jon Chu has shown that he is very adept at handling action. In fact, I would go as far as to say that I think he’s a lot better than a lot of “action directors” working today. I can only assume that comes from his background in dance. The two genres have more in common than you would think. I thought the ninja mountain sequence was phenomenal and definitely one of the best action sequences I’ve seen in the last few years.

However, the whole film just felt very small. Too small for my liking. To me, that was the biggest strike against it. I suppose that would have been down to the budget. The final action scene was just very boring with not a lot going on. The whole of the film’s budget clearly went to destroying London (which looked spectacular) and the whole ninja action sequence.

Is Jon Chu a good fit for MOTU? Well, I’m heavily into film in general, so I could pick at least twenty other directors who I would rather see calling the shots on a new MOTU film. However, Chu has shown here that he can handle action well and that he knows how to get you excited. I think he just needs to be given a better script. Hopefully he gets that with MOTU. I have no doubt that action-wise and visually he would make MOTU absolutely stunning. In a way, if he can do that, he’s half way there, IMO.